There is a special place in the capital of Austria ¡V Vienna City Park. Regardless of the weather, this park, which is located in the center of the beautiful old city, attracts many tourists and local residents. Viennese like to chat away at the cafes or enjoy sunshine on park benches while tourists are mainly attracted to the greenery in the midst of magnificent medieval architecture. Large numbers of tourist groups linger in the beautiful scenery, amongst blooming flowers. Tourists snap photos in front of the statue of Johann Strauss, where Vienna Falun Gong practitioners do the exercises together every Sunday to Thursday almost without interruption. What is so special about this place? Tourist groups from China visit this park every day. Practitioners have therefore turned it into a practice site and place for clarifying the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong.

Practice site in Vienna City Park

Many tourists learn about Falun Gong from this practice site

New practitioner learns to do the exercises

"Personally, I prefer another place."

Melanie from Vienna persists in doing the exercises in the park for two hours every Sunday to Thursday regardless of weather, along with other practitioners. "We had stayed on a lawn where almost nobody could see us before a Chinese practitioner suggested that we make a change. Many Chinese tourist groups pass by the statue of Franz Joseph." In the beginning Melanie could not accept this suggestion. Later she let go of her personal preference. As a result, the site of their practice changed from grass to sand and gravel. "We did this for the Chinese people," she emphasized. She first learned the true situation of Falun Gong when her son returned from China. Her son, Alexander, became a Falun Gong practitioner in 2001, a year and a half earlier than his mom. He went to Changchun alone in 2002, where he distributed leaflets about Falun Gong being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Soon he was arrested and detained by police. A few days later he was deported by the Chinese authorities. Prior to that, he dared not imagine coming back to Vienna alive.

"Yes, I knew he would do something there, but not exactly sure what. He told me he would fly to China but nothing about distributing leaflets," Melanie said. Seeing her son at the airport, Melanie began to really pay attention to the persecution Falun Gong suffers in China. "His suit jacket was torn from top to bottom in the back. He had black and blue bruises all over his arms. He had not yet completely recovered from the shock." At the time her life was not connected with China in any way so she had not realized it is still under the totalitarian rule of the CCP.

As a matter of fact, she had seen Falun Gong previously without realizing what it was. "While attending a class in Oberlaa, I looked out of the window and saw a group of people doing beautiful exercises on a park lawn." She is still full of yearning even talking about it now. "Everything was surrounded by green, the lawn, the trees and the peaceful exercises. I was fascinated, thinking, 'I want to learn too.'" When she came out, however, those people had gone. Later she realized what she saw was Falun Gong. Thus Melanie started practicing Falun Gong and took part in truth clarification activities to stop the persecution.

It is not always easy for Melanie to keep doing the exercises in the park. Many practitioners cannot make it during the week due to work commitments. Once she did the exercises all by herself. In the winter the temperature in the park is always a few degrees lower than anywhere else. In the summer mosquitoes are a problem. But she sticks with it despite everything because this is a rare opportunity for truth clarification. "Sometimes several big coaches full of Chinese tourists arrive at the same time. Hundreds of people would crowd around us. They would walk within close range and surround us like we were rare animals." Melanie said a bit emotionally. Whenever Chinese tourist groups pass by, some practitioners stop to distribute leaflets and the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and talk to them. The Chinese's reactions are poles apart. Some courageously step forward to take the materials and read immediately on the spot. Some even shout happily "Falun Gong, Falun Gong," in the crowd, while others dare not take leaflets in the open, fearing trouble. A small number of people, whose minds have been deeply poisoned by the CCP propaganda, get very angry when they hear about Falun Gong. They would not talk rationally or take truth clarification material. Even if they did take the leaflet, they would throw it away or tear it apart.

Melanie's perseverance was tested on many occasions. "Once, a man dropped his pants in front of me." She continued with the exercises without paying any attention. Finally the man pulled up his pants and slipped away. Another time a man took the "Little Bee" (small recorder with exercise music) and ran. When a fellow practitioner ran after him, the man dropped the "Little Bee" and ran away. It is not easy for Melanie to concentrate during the exercises in this hectic place. In the summer, there are all kinds of parties. Many concerts are held in a luxurious building nearby, attracting a lot of patrons. Sometimes popular or classical music roars. "In the past year, they hung up scores of large lamps or sprinkled sand on the platform for parties, which made it very noisy," she explained. Nowadays she can concentrate very well during the exercises. "Of course I can hear other music. But it is not a problem as long as I focus on the exercise music. Gradually the conditions become better and better."

Under Melanie's and other Vienna practitioners' efforts, the practice site has survived for years. Countless people from China and all around the world learn about Falun Gong here.